Question:
We may consider getting a portable air conditioning unit, but are they any
good.?
Our room is 24 ft by 12 ft and contains 7 servers, 3 PC's 3 UPS and fridge.
Will we get a benefit from a portable unit or should we hold out for a
proper installation.
As always our business manager is more concerned with price than value for
money. Has anyone got any experience with a similar unit?
Answer:
Well the "portable" air conditioning in our bedroom (average size
bedroom? Less than half your server room.) can reduce the temperature
by about 4 degrees C in an hour. It is very noisy. Obviously needs a
pipe to outdoors. Once turned off (because so noisy) the air
temperature rapidly returns to whatever it was before. If they make
them quieter, smaller, or more efficient, I would like to know! I've
given up on this one.
I don't think you'll find a portable unit that's big enough and you'd
probably need two or a 'split' unit (box fixed outside with the fan and
condenser connected to a separate box inside with the evaporator). You could
always hire a unit or two and see if they work.
I suspect that they wouldn't work but by the time this had been found out
the warm spell would be over and the original poster's business manager
would then just say "oh, we'll leave it until next year" and nothing would
be done.
It's of no help here, but if I can just sneak in an advert then the
College of North West London is a Centre Of Vocational Excellence for
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning so if you wanted to learn how to do it
properly then I'm sure our course information centre (020 8208 5050; cic
at cnwl dot ac dot uk) would help you get on an appropriate course .
